People with nothing to hide always stonewall in the face of Congressional subpeonas, right?
Bloomberg
The longtime adviser of former President Donald Trump claims the committee lacks subpoena power because it was not properly constituted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
(snip)
“It’s a fishing expedition,” he said, adding that there’s nothing there to find.
The records sought by the committee records are logs of incoming and outgoing calls that show the date, time and length of each call. They also show a log of text messages, but not the substance or content of the messages.
Stone claims the Jan. 6th Committee wasn’t properly constituted and therefore lacks authority to issue subpoenas.
From what I can tell, it’s the latest craze...
New York Times
With the suit, which also named Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Stone joined at least 19 potential witnesses who are fighting the committee’s subpoenas in court, though judges have thus far sided with the panel, ruling that congressional investigators have broad power to access evidence for the inquiry. Those seeking to use the courts to stonewall the committee include Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, as well as lower-level witnesses who helped to organize the rally in Washington that preceded the Capitol riot.
(snip)
The suit also claimed that the panel was harassing Mr. Stone because he is part of the conservative movement.
“The select committee is probing plaintiff because of his political belief,” it said, alleging without evidence that the information would be used to build “a massive database” to track Mr. Stone and like-minded associates who believe in “election integrity” or “government skepticism.”
The committee’s investigators see Mr. Stone as a crucial witness for several reasons, including that he, perhaps uniquely among those subpoenaed by the committee, has relationships with some of the most prominent political organizers and far-right groups involved in the rallies that preceded the Capitol attack.
Don’t forget the Willard Hotel War Room…
NBC News
Stone is a longtime adviser to former President Donald Trump and a political consultant.
In December, Stone was questioned by the committee, which is investigating matters related to the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. He invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when he met with the House panel.
The suit filed Thursday seeks to have a judge declare the subpoena issued to AT&T invalid, and to prevent the carrier from turning over any data.
I did not know... that clergyman need to be protected from Congress. Go figure!
CNN
In Stone's case, he argues that information about communications he's had with his lawyers and spiritual leaders should stay private and that the committee's pursuits are invalid -- which no court has found at this time.
Stone says the subpoena would bring in data on his friends, political associates and "everyone who has had any connection with the belief in election integrity, government skepticism, other political associations or vendors who worked with" him.
His suit says "the data sought is not pertinent to the investigation and sweeps up privileged communications between Stone and clergy and Stone and his respective attorneys."
He seems to be protecting everybody and his barber… I wonder who else he might be protecting.